Hostage killed, CHP officer injured in Roseville shooting. Suspect arrested

A man shot a California Highway Patrol officer Thursday at a Roseville park, then shot two additional people he had taken hostage, leaving one of the hostages dead and the other wounded, before ultimately surrendering to law enforcement and being taken to a hospital, authorities said.

Roseville police responded shortly after 12:30 p.m. to a call from CHP reporting one of its task force officers had been shot at Mahany Park, Capt. Kelby Newton of the Roseville Police Department said in a news conference.

Roseville police and allied law enforcement agencies were called to the park. Newton said officers arrived and found the suspect, who was still armed with a gun. He said the suspect fired his gun at officers as he ran from police.

Then, the suspect took two adult victims hostage at the park for a short time, until officers arrived and confronted him, Newton said.

The suspect allegedly shot both hostages. One of the hostages died at the scene, Newton said. The other was taken to a hospital, with injuries that appear to be non-life-threatening, police said in an update Thursday evening.

The suspect surrendered to officers and was taken into custody, Newton said, before being taken to a hospital for injuries that were initially unspecified. Roseville police said late Thursday that “the suspect sustained gunshot wounds” and was taken to a hospital, where his condition was not known.

The alleged shooter was the “suspect of an ongoing felony investigation,” the CHP’s Auburn office said in a news release Friday. CHP officers contacted him near Mahany Park around 12:30 p.m. in an attempt to serve a search warrant.

The suspect fled to a greenbelt area, shooting while running and striking one CHP officer, the agency wrote.

The news release did not say whether any CHP officers discharged their weapons. The CHP said it is conducting an administrative investigation into the incident and officer-involved shooting.

“One of our officers was struck by gunfire from the suspect’s firearm,” CHP Officer Ricardo Ortiz said. “That officer is being treated for his injuries and is in stable condition.”

Ortiz said he had no other information available regarding the investigation, which remains active.

Roseville police said firefighters at a station at the park “heard active gunfire” and called for help, then went outside and retrieved the wounded CHP officer and offered medical help.

Newton said the shooting and hostage situation developed quickly, in a matter of minutes of police responding to the scene.

“It was a rapidly evolving situation and occurred within a couple of minutes of the initial broadcast of the CHP officer being struck by gunfire,” Newton said. “There were people out and about, walking on the trails in the area.”

The identities and ages of the suspect and victims have not been released.

Newton said he believes the hostages did not know the suspect. Newton did not know what the hostages were doing at the park at the time. He said the police department was withholding further information about the hostages.

The incident drew a large police presence to the park on Pleasant Grove Boulevard beginning around 12:30 p.m.

The Roseville Police Department in a social media post just after 3:05 p.m. said the “suspect has been taken into custody and the scene is safe and no longer active.”

Dozens of law enforcement vehicles from multiple agencies remained at the scene as of 3:15 p.m. Activity centered on the park, which includes softball fields and a dog park.

“Roseville Police and Fire Departments train regularly for all kinds of incidents in case they come to our city, like today,” Police Chief Troy Bergstrom said in a prepared statement. “That training helped contain the situation so there was no additional loss of life.”

The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office assisted with the response, spokesman Sgt. Amar Gandhi said. Gandhi said “major” law enforcement activity was underway. Placer County sheriff’s deputies were also at the scene.

Pleasant Grove Road was closed to traffic between Woodcreek and Del Webb boulevards as of 2:30 p.m.

Shooting prompted lockdowns, including near fire station

Police were using armored vehicles to attempt to contact a shooter as of 1:15 p.m. at a location near Mahany Park, according to dispatch radio traffic. Multiple ambulances were also responding to the scene, according to radio traffic.

The suspect was taken into custody shortly before 1:25 p.m., according to scanner audio.

An officer announced over the radio at 12:34 p.m. that shots were first fired at Mahany Park. The officer was in pursuit.

Firefighters at Roseville Fire Department Station 5, adjacent to the park, reported active gunfire near the station, according to scanner traffic. City parks and recreation personnel were hunkered down, taking shelter near the fire station.

Officers reported the suspect, who they could see, was “armed with a pistol and taking shots at officers,” according to radio traffic. At one point, a civilian was on one of the fields at the park with a dog; officers worked to evacuate the person.

About eight minutes after the shooting began, a CHP officer was reportedly shot near the fire station. Firefighters brought him into the station and performed medical aid, according to police radio.

“There is an active police situation in Mahany Park at this time,” the Roseville Parks and Recreation Department said in a Facebook post just after 1:15 p.m. “Mahany Fitness Center and Riley Library are currently in lockdown.”

Lockdowns were lifted at Mahany Park facilities around 3 p.m., the police department said. The fitness center and library will remain closed the rest of the day. Children attending a day camp in the area were moved to Quail Glen Elementary School for pickup by parents.

Softball and baseball diamonds and Mahany’s dog park were closed for the day Friday due to the continuing law enforcement investigation. Roseville Transit service to Mahany Park’s park-and-ride lot were diverted to nearby Woodcreek High School. Roseville day camps were to remain open Friday, city officials said.

Incident took place near school, park and businesses

The Mahany Park complex, on Pleasant Grove Boulevard in the western portion of Roseville, includes softball and baseball fields, a dog park and a library. Mahany Park is immediately adjacent to a Roseville fire station, sharing a driveway with the park’s parking lot.

The scene is also near Woodcreek High School and the Roseville Aquatics Complex. Classes were not in session at Woodcreek High due to spring break. The campus was briefly locked down for staff working at the school, Roseville Joint Union High School District board president Pete Constant said.

Several other businesses are near the incident, including the Roseville Utility Exploration Center, Mahany Fitness Center and Martha Riley Community Library. Across the street is an apartment complex, and a plaza with a Raley’s supermarket, Starbucks and banks.

‘We got into a safe spot’: Teen witnesses heard gunfire

Ben Mercado, 13, was with friends at the batting cages at Mahany Park when they heard gunfire. He said he saw officers arrive and yell “Police. Get down!” to a man in a black trench coat.

“And then, they screamed that he had a gun,” the eighth-grader said. “Then, me and my friends just dropped down.”

“Roughly 20, 25 shots” to start with, Mercado said. He believed what he heard was a shootout between the suspect and police. “We dropped down, got into a safe spot in the cage.”

Mercado said he and his friends crawled on the ground toward police, who had them run to a nearby parking lot. He said he heard roughly another 15 to 20 gunshots after leaving the batting cages for a total of about 40 shots.

The teen, off from school for spring break, said he goes to Mahany Park frequently with his friends to play baseball.

Ben’s mom, Nicole Mercado, is a nurse and was at work when her friends started texting her, asking her whether her son was at Mahany Park.

“They hang out here all the time,” Mercado said about her son and his friends. “I was freaked out.”

Around 12:40 p.m., she received a text message from her son saying he and his friends were just in the middle of a shootout.